CN213716825U

CN213716825U - Backup protector for surge protector

Info

Publication number: CN213716825U
Application number: CN202023056583.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 历晓东; S·田; E·多迈吉恩; 周炎
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Priority date: 2020-12-16
Filing date: 2020-12-16
Publication date: 2021-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 2030-12-16

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a backup protector for a surge protector. The backup protector includes: a first electrode (10) adapted to be connected to a supply line of an electrical power source; an arc ignition electrode (20) adapted to be connected to the surge protector and adapted to direct an arc to an arc extinguishing assembly (40); and a switching device (30) forming a spark gap (31) with the first electrode (10) and connected to the ignition electrode (20), wherein the switching device includes an on state in which the spark gap (31) is broken by a surge from the power supply line to freewheel the surge to the surge protector via the switching device (30), and an off state; in the open state, the first electrode (10) is electrically isolated from the ignition electrode (20). The backup protector according to the embodiment of the disclosure can provide overvoltage protection for the SPD and acts rapidly.

Description

Backup protector for surge protector

Technical Field

The utility model discloses an embodiment relates to a reserve protector for surge protector.

Background

Electrical distribution systems of buildings are often provided with Surge Protectors (SPDs) to withstand surges and possibly associated short circuit currents to protect the electrical distribution system. However, since the SPD suffers from aging problems and vulnerability, a backup protector is typically provided for the SPD to provide backup protection for the SPD.

Conventional backup protectors are implemented using fuses, circuit breakers or residual current protectors. However, while these backup protectors can provide some degree of protection for the SPD, they still suffer from the drawback of being prone to damage, particularly when they are subjected to both surge and short circuit currents. Accordingly, it is desirable to improve upon backup protectors to better meet the performance requirements of the backup protectors.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is an object of the disclosed embodiments to provide a backup protector for a surge protector, which can solve or alleviate at least one of the above problems.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a backup protector for a surge protector is provided. A back-up protector for a surge protector comprising: a first electrode adapted to be connected to a power supply line of a power supply; an arc initiation electrode adapted to be connected to the surge protector and adapted to direct an arc to an arc extinguishing assembly; and a switching device forming a spark gap with the first electrode and connected to the ignition electrode, wherein the switching device includes an on state in which the spark gap is broken by a surge from the power supply line to freewheel the surge to the surge protector via the switching device, and an off state; in the open state, the first electrode is electrically isolated from the ignition electrode.

According to the backup protector of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the backup protector is designed in an open circuit manner. The presence of the spark gap allows the backup protector to withstand a certain level of overvoltage to avoid degradation or failure of the SPD at this overvoltage. In addition, the backup protector is designed in an open circuit mode, so that the backup protector can act more rapidly, the peak value of short-circuit current is effectively limited, arc extinction by current is facilitated, and the backup protector is safer and more effective.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the switching device includes a fixed contact spaced apart from the first electrode by a predetermined distance that forms the spark gap, and a movable contact adapted to move between a predetermined first position in which the movable contact is in contact with the fixed contact and a second position in which the movable contact is separated from the fixed contact.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the switching device includes a trip device configured to drive the movable contact to move from the first position to the second position in response to both surge and short circuit currents from the line.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the trip device includes a current transformer structured to sense the short circuit current and an actuator structured to drive the movable contact to move from the first position to the second position in response to the sensing of the short circuit current.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the trip device includes a surge filter structured in the form of a low pass filter to filter out sensed currents exceeding a predetermined threshold value sensed by the current transformer. Thereby, the operational reliability of the trip device can be further improved.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the actuator includes an actuator configured to drive the short circuit trip mechanism to operate in response to sensing of the short circuit current, and a short circuit trip mechanism configured to drive the movable contact to move from the first position to the second position in response to a signal from the actuator.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the short circuit trip mechanism includes an indicator configured to change an indication state in response to the movable contact moving from the first position to the second position. Thereby, an indication of the operating state of the switching device of the backup protector can be provided.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the switching device includes a spark gap trigger assembly configured to allow conduction of the spark gap such that the spark gap is spark conducted below a breakdown voltage of the spark gap. Thus, when a surge comes, the spark gap can be turned on as quickly as possible to realize surge relief.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the switching device comprises a flexible connection line, wherein the switching device is connected to the ignition electrode via the flexible connection line.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the backup protector further includes a case, a power supply connection terminal, and a surge protector connection terminal, the first electrode, the ignition electrode, and the switching device being accommodated in the case, the first electrode being connected to a line of the power supply via the power supply connection terminal, the ignition electrode being connected to the surge protector via the surge protector connection terminal.

Drawings

A back-up protector for a surge protector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a backup protector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a switching device in the backup protector is in an on state; and

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a backup protector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which a switching device in the backup protector is in an open state.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same reference numerals may be used in the drawings for similar components or functional elements. The accompanying drawings are only intended to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative embodiments can be made from the following description without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The backup protector is an electrical device dedicated to providing protection for the SPD, which allows a surge flowing into the backup protector to pass through the backup protector to enter the SPD to achieve protection of the power distribution system by the SPD. In addition, the backup protector can also provide short-circuit protection, namely when short-circuit current comes to the backup protector, the backup protector can break the path from the short-circuit current to the SPD, and the SPD is prevented from being damaged by the short-circuit current.

As mentioned above, the conventional backup protector is easily damaged when it is subjected to both surge and short circuit. In addition, the traditional backup protector has poor overvoltage bearing performance, so that the SPD is easy to age and cannot provide efficient protection for the SPD. The backup protector provided according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can effectively solve one or more of the above-mentioned problems. A backup protector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the backup protector 100 includes: a first electrode 10, an ignition electrode 20 and a switching device 30 located between the first electrode 10 and the ignition electrode 20. The first electrode 10 may be connected to the supply line and the ignition electrode 20 may be connected to the output of the SPD. The switching device 30 is configured to form a spark gap 31 with the first electrode 10.

The switching device 30 may include an on state and an off state. The switching device 30 is operable in the on state and operates as follows. As shown in fig. 1, when a surge flows into the backup protector from the input terminal 110 of the backup protector 100, the surge first reaches the first electrode 10, then breaks down the spark gap 31, the surge breaking down the spark gap 31 continues to flow through the ignition electrode 20, and the surge then finally flows out of the backup protector 100 via the output terminal 120 connected to the ignition electrode 20 to be discharged to the SPD connected to the backup protector 100, and this surge discharge is safely completed. The backup protector 100 may protect the arc extinguishing assembly 40.

The switching device 30 is operable in the off state and operates as follows. When surge and short circuit current occur simultaneously, the surge reaches the backup protector 100 earlier than the short circuit current. The surge breaks down the spark gap 31 when the gap is in a surge conducting state (the state shown in fig. 1). But because the surge duration is short (<1000us), the switching device 30 is not triggered to trip. When the short-circuit current continues to flow through the spark gap, the switching device 30 is triggered to act, so that the switching device 30 is opened, as shown in the state of fig. 2. The short circuit current arc is pushed toward the arc extinguishing assembly 40, causing the arc to enter the arc extinguishing assembly 40.

The backup protector 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is kept in the open state in the normal state in consideration of the presence of the spark gap 31. The presence of the spark gap allows the backup protector to withstand a certain level of overvoltage, for example 440V ═ to protect the following SPD products from degradation or failure of the SPD at this overvoltage.

In addition, considering the presence of the switching device 30, the switching device 30 is normally in the closed state, and functions well regardless of the surge alone or the combination of the surge and the short-circuit. In particular, when the short-circuit current generation occurs alone, the short-circuit current cannot pass through the backup protector 100 due to the presence of the spark gap; when a surge occurs alone, the surge breaks down the spark gap and is then output to the subsequent SPDs via the ignition electrode 20 to perform surge protection on the power distribution system; when a surge and a short-circuit current are generated simultaneously, the backup protector 100 is thus conducted with the SPD after the surge has broken down the spark gap; further, when the short-circuit current arrives, the short-circuit current triggers the switching device 30 of the backup protector 100 to open, thereby preventing the short-circuit current from being transmitted to the subsequent SPDs. Furthermore, during this process, the arc is already generated in the spark gap (surge triggered), so the arc itself limits the expected short-circuit current and is rapidly pushed towards the arc extinguishing assembly, which is a more rapid and efficient process that effectively limits the short-circuit current peaks, facilitates current arc extinction, and is safer and more efficient.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the switching device 30 may include a fixed contact 32 and a movable contact 34. The fixed contact 32 is spaced apart from the first electrode 10 by a predetermined distance, wherein the predetermined distance forms the spark gap 31. The movable contact 34 is movable between a predetermined first position and a second position. As shown in fig. 1, in the first position, the movable contact 34 is in contact with the fixed contact 32; as shown in fig. 2, in the second position, the movable contact 34 is separated from the fixed contact 32.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the switching device 30 may include a trip device configured to drive the movable contact 34 from the first position to the second position in response to both surge and short circuit currents from the line. The trip device may take various forms and in some embodiments may take the form of an electromagnetic trip. The specific implementation of the trip device is not limited as long as the trip device is capable of switching the switching device 30 from the closed state to the open state in response to the short-circuit current.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the trip device may include a current transformer 33 and an actuator, the current transformer 33 being structured to sense the short circuit current, the actuator being structured to drive the movable contact 34 to move from the first position to the second position in response to the sensing of the short circuit current. It should be understood that this is merely an exemplary embodiment of a trip device, which may be implemented as other driving means.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the actuator may include an actuator 35 and a short circuit trip mechanism 37. The actuator 35 is configured to actuate the short circuit trip mechanism 37 in response to sensing of the short circuit current, and the short circuit trip mechanism 37 is configured to actuate the movable contact 34 to move from the first position to the second position in response to a signal from the actuator 35.

In some embodiments, not shown, the trip device includes a surge filter configured in the form of a low pass filter to filter out sensed currents exceeding a predetermined threshold sensed by the current transformer 33. Therefore, the false operation of the tripping mechanism can be prevented, and the operation reliability of the tripping device is improved.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the short circuit trip mechanism 37 can include an indicator 38. The indicator 30 is coupleable with the short circuit trip mechanism 37 and is configured to change the indicating state in response to the movable contact 34 moving from the first position to the second position. In some embodiments, the indicator 30 may comprise a trip handle. Therefore, the backup protector not only can have an open circuit isolation function, but also provides a tripping display and reset function. The user can conveniently learn the status of the backup protector 100 from the position of the trip handle.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the switching device 30 may include a spark gap triggering assembly 39. The spark gap triggering assembly 39 may be configured to allow for the conduction of the spark gap 31 such that the spark gap 31 is spark-conducted below the breakdown voltage of the spark gap 31. In some embodiments, the spark gap triggering assembly 39 may be configured to generate a spark in the spark gap 31 if the voltage is above a predetermined threshold. Thus, surge relief can be quickly realized without damaging the protection performance by reducing the size of the spark gap.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the switching device 30 may comprise a flexible connection line 36, wherein the switching device 30 is connected to the ignition electrode 20 via the flexible connection line 36. Thereby, the electrical connection between the movable contact 34 and the ignition electrode 20 is not affected by the operation of the movable contact 34.

In some embodiments, the backup protector 100 may include a housing (not shown), a power connection terminal 110, and a surge protector connection terminal 120. The first electrode 10, the ignition electrode 20, and the switching device 30 are accommodated in the housing, thereby providing effective protection for the backup protector 100 via the housing. The first electrode 10 is connected to the line of the power supply via a power connection terminal 110, and the ignition electrode 20 is connected to the surge protector via a surge protector connection terminal 120. Thus, the backup protector 100 can be conveniently electrically connected to the distribution network and the SPD.

According to the backup protector of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the backup protector is designed in an open circuit manner. The spark gap provides electrical isolation of the distribution line from the SPD and allows the backup protector to withstand a certain level of overvoltage to avoid degradation or failure of the SPD at such overvoltage.

In addition, the backup protector is designed in an open circuit mode, so that the backup protector can act more quickly. In particular, when a short-circuit current occurs, an arc is already generated in the spark gap (surge strike), the arc itself limits the expected short-circuit current, and the arc is rapidly pushed towards the arc extinguishing assembly. The process does not need to open the switching device and does not need to generate electric arcs by means of tripping of the switching device, so that the operation is quicker and more effective, the short-circuit current peak value is effectively limited, the current arc extinction is facilitated, and the operation is safer and more effective.

Those skilled in the art will understand that: the foregoing description is provided for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other implementations that depart from these specific details. Furthermore, unnecessary detail of known functions and structures may be omitted from the current description so as not to obscure the present invention.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and that the invention has other applications in other environments. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention. The following claims should in no way be construed to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. A backup protector for a surge protector, comprising:

a first electrode (10) adapted to be connected to a supply line of an electrical power source;

an arc ignition electrode (20) adapted to be connected to the surge protector and to direct an arc to an arc extinguishing assembly (40); and

a switching device (30) forming a spark gap (31) with the first electrode (10) and connected to the ignition electrode (20),

wherein the switching device comprises an on-state in which the spark gap (31) is broken down by a surge from the power supply line to freewheel the surge to the surge protector via the switching device (30); in the open state, the first electrode (10) is electrically isolated from the ignition electrode (20).

2. Backup protector according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching device (30) comprises a fixed contact (32) spaced apart from the first electrode (10) by a predetermined distance forming the spark gap (31) and a movable contact (34) adapted to move between a predetermined first position, in which the movable contact (34) is in contact with the fixed contact (32), and a second position, in which the movable contact (34) is separated from the fixed contact (32).

3. A backup protector according to claim 2, characterized in that the switching device (30) comprises a trip device configured to drive the movable contact (34) from the first position to the second position in response to both surge and short circuit currents from the line.

4. A backup protector according to claim 3, characterized in that the trip device comprises a current transformer (33) and an actuator, the current transformer (33) being structured to sense the short-circuit current, the actuator being structured to drive the movable contact (34) to move from the first position to the second position in response to the sensing of the short-circuit current.

5. The backup protector of claim 4, characterized in that the trip device comprises a surge filter structured in the form of a low pass filter to filter out sensed currents exceeding a predetermined threshold value sensed by the current transformer (33).

6. The backup protector of claim 4, characterized in that the actuator comprises an actuator (35) and a short circuit trip mechanism (37), the actuator (35) being configured to drive the short circuit trip mechanism (37) to actuate in response to sensing of the short circuit current, the short circuit trip mechanism (37) being configured to drive the movable contact (34) to move from the first position to the second position in response to a signal from the actuator (35).

7. The backup protector of claim 6, characterized in that the short circuit trip mechanism (37) comprises an indicator (38) configured to change an indication state in response to the movable contact (34) moving from the first position to the second position.

8. A backup protector according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that the switching device (30) comprises a spark gap triggering assembly (39) configured to allow conduction of the spark gap (31) so that the spark gap (31) is spark-conducted below the breakdown voltage of the spark gap (31).

9. A backup protector according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that the switching device (30) comprises a flexible connection line (36), wherein the switching device (30) is connected to the ignition electrode (20) via the flexible connection line (36).

10. A backup protector according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that it further comprises a housing, a power connection terminal (110), and a surge protector connection terminal (120), the first electrode (10), the ignition electrode (20) and the switching device (30) being housed within the housing, the first electrode (10) being connected to the line of the power supply via the power connection terminal (110), the ignition electrode (20) being connected to the surge protector via the surge protector connection terminal (120).